British Imperialism in Qajar Iran: Consuls, Agents and Influence in the Middle East

by H. Lyman Stebbins

Overview

In 1888, there were just four British consulates in the country; by 1921 there were twenty-three. H. Lyman Stebbins investigates the development and consequences of British imperialism in Iran in a time of international rivalry, revolution and world war. While previous narratives of Anglo-Iranian relations have focused on the highest diplomatic circles in Tehran, London, Calcutta and St. Petersburg, this book argues that British consuls and political agents made the vast southern borderlands of Iran the real centre of British power and influence during this period. Based on British consular archives from Bushihr, Shiraz, Sistan and Muhammarah, this book reveals that Britain, India and Iran were linked together by discourses of colonial knowledge and patterns of political, military and economic control. It also contextualizes the emergence of Iranian nationalism as well as the failure and collapse of the Qajar state during the Iranian Constitutional Revolution and the First World War.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781784535025
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	04/28/2017
Series:	International Library of Iranian Studies
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.60(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Lyman Stebbins is Assistant Professor of History at La Salle University, Philadelphia. He holds a PhD from the University of Chicago.

Table of Contents

List of Maps and Figures vii

Maps ix

Acknowledgements xiii

Transliteration and Dates xv

Introduction 1

Part I Consuls and the Great Game, 1889-1907

1 Imperial Intelligence: Official British Images of Qajar Iran 11

2 Imperial Inroads: Commerce, Conflict and Cooperation 42

3 Imperial Partition: Forging the Anglo-Russian Convention 71

Part II Consuls and Revolution, 1905-1915

4 The Revolutionary Vortex: Ideology, Faction and Empire 103

5 Divide et Impera: The Consolidation of British Control 134

Part III Consuls at War, 1915-1921

6 Proxy Wars: The Battle for Southern Iran 165

7 The Road to Tehran: The End of British Imperialism in Southern Iran 197

Conclusion 228

Notes 237

Bibliography 286

Index 297

Editorial Reviews

‘H. Lyman Stebbins’ British Imperialism in Qajar Iran: Consuls, Agents and Influence in the Middle East constitutes an important contribution both to the history of British indirect imperialism and to the history of Qajar Iran. While the use of trade concessions and military advisors, and later direct military force, by Britain in Iran have been studied, the use of a “softer” consular power in the provinces has not been investigated in detail. Mr. Stebbins' work, which addresses this important issue, is both detailed and revealing—in fact it is something of a tour de force in its scope and ability to compose a compelling narrative from a huge assemblage of dispersed and at times seemly minor data. Through it we see the complicated relations between policymakers in London and in British India, the ways that consular authority was used to develop unofficial military power in the provinces, Britain’s efforts at establishing and maintaining control over important routes of communication and trade, and the degree to which these efforts had the result of further undermining the actual effective authority of an already rather weak Iranian central government. This book should be of great interest to those interested in the history of nineteenth century Iran, diplomacy, trade, and British imperialism.’

A. Holly Shissler

‘This is an excellent study, comprehensive, clearly argued, and well written.’

Rudi Matthee